Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The residents’ experience rating for John Curtin Aged Care is 4 out of 5, compared with a national average of 3.62. Three findings stand out as positive, and three are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Positive standouts
Residents consistently describe respectful, caring staff
100% positive on respect and 100% on caring staff, versus 95.9% and 96.0% across other homes.
Residents’ experience rating exceeds the national average
4 out of 5, compared with 3.62 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
Residents report stronger support for independence
100% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 88.6% across other homes.
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 213 vs 214 minutes; registered nurses: 50 vs 43 minutes per resident per day.
Food enjoyment fell in the latest survey
61% positive in 2025, compared with 92% in 2024: 31 percentage points lower.
Staffing rating trails the national average
2 out of 5, compared with 3.18 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
Sources and Explanation
This is a programmatic interpretation of published data, not an in-person inspection or a separate expert-assigned score. The figures are the Elderberry Index and its four government component ratings; a measure the home has no published rating for is left out. Our rating methodology.
Ratings: August 2026. Survey comparisons: 2025 interview responses from that extract. Other Australian homes in the same ratings extract; survey comparisons also require the same interview year. Each eligible home has equal weight; missing/invalid values excluded. These are descriptive comparisons, not resident-weighted or adjusted for differences in care needs.
How findings are selected
Survey gaps of at least 3 percentage points, rating gaps of at least 0.3 stars, and changes of at least 10 percentage points can qualify. These are editorial selection thresholds, not tests of statistical significance. Benchmarks need at least 30 homes. Each side shows up to three eligible findings; missing values never become negative findings. Specific combined food evidence and sustained care-target results are prioritised, then larger differences. Respect and caring are grouped when both qualify.
Food spending uses the My Aged Care sector median for Jan–Mar 2026; resident enjoyment comes from the 2025 survey. The combined finding reports two separate observations from different reporting periods; it does not establish that spending caused the survey result. Year-to-year survey samples may differ and respondent counts are unavailable. Care consistency uses the latest four submitted, quality-checked care-minute records and direct RN minutes without EN top-up.
A lower compliance rating is a comparison with other homes, not a claim of an active sanction. Higher expenditure alone is not treated as better care. Unadjusted clinical incident measures are not used to rank quality here.
My Aged Care home profile · Government Star Ratings extract
Benchmark populations
| Measure | Mean | Other homes |
|---|---|---|
| Elderberry Index | 3.81 | 2366 |
| Residents’ experience | 3.62 | 2434 |
| Compliance | 4.83 | 2395 |
| Staffing | 3.18 | 2454 |
| Quality measures | 3.07 | 2457 |
| Respectful treatment | 95.86% | 1354 |
| Feeling safe | 96.45% | 1354 |
| How well the home is run | 89.33% | 1354 |
| Getting needed care | 94.47% | 1354 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.47% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.58% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.82% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.27% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.20% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.19% | 1354 |
What is the food like at John Curtin Aged Care?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 61% of residents surveyed at John Curtin Aged Care said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 9.3 percentage points below the average of 70.3% across other homes. The share fell from 92% in 2024. Another 38% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
In January to March 2026, John Curtin Aged Care spent $30 per resident per day on food, 88% above the sector median of $16. In the same quarter, spending on dietitians was $0.40 per resident per day, 43% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to John Curtin Aged Care, breakfast, lunch and dinner are all cooked fresh. All meals are prepared on site.
Do residents enjoy the food?
Residents who answered “Always” or “Most of the time”.
61% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How does John Curtin Aged Care spend on resident care?
Spending on care and nursing at John Curtin Aged Care in the 2024–25 financial year was $224.89 per resident per day, 15% below the sector median of $264.85. Spending across all categories was $425.55 per resident per day. These amounts are the home’s costs, not the fees a resident pays.
Where does the rest of the spending go?
Spending on other categories included administration ($76.72), cleaning and laundry ($36.58), and accommodation and maintenance ($31.29) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($102.85) and registered nurses ($53.63).
What do residents say about John Curtin Aged Care?
Asked in the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves, 100% of residents surveyed at John Curtin Aged Care answered “always” or “most of the time”, 11.4 percentage points above the average of 88.6% across other homes. Answers were also above the average for other homes when residents were asked whether staff know what they are doing (100% against 89.5%) and whether they get the care they need (100% against 94.5%).
The largest gap below other homes was when residents were asked whether staff follow up when they raise things: 77% answered “always” or “most of the time”, against an average of 85.2%. Altogether, answers on 3 of the 10 questions other than food were at least 3 percentage points below the average for other homes.
What should you ask about on a visit?
A visit is a chance to ask about how the home records and follows up concerns. When residents were asked whether staff follow up when they raise things, 54% answered “always”, 23% “most of the time” and 23% “some of the time”; none answered “never”.
Do residents feel safe?
When residents surveyed at John Curtin Aged Care were asked whether they feel safe, 62% answered “always” and 31% “most of the time”.
How much care and nursing does John Curtin Aged Care provide?
John Curtin Aged Care reported 213 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 1 minute below its target of 214 minutes. Registered nurses provided 50 of those minutes, 7 minutes above the registered-nurse target of 43.
In none of the last four quarters did John Curtin Aged Care meet both its total and registered-nurse targets. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 174 to 213 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Of the 213 minutes, personal care workers provided 146 (68.5%), followed by registered nurses (50 minutes, 23.5%) and enrolled nurses (17 minutes, 8.0%). John Curtin Aged Care also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers in the same quarter.
